Titan Shifter

The power of the Titans is the ability which allows Eldian people to transform into one of the Nine Titans. Unlike Pure Titans, these Titans are intelligent, controlled by the human inside. The Nine Titans are far more powerful than regular Titans and have unique abilities.

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Description

In order to transform, a human with the power of the Titans must suffer an injury that draws blood (often self-harm) while having a solid goal or belief in mind at the moment of injury. Being injured by another person is also sufficient. Once the transformation is initiated, a burst of energy is released, followed by the generation of the Titan body and a release of hot steam. After transforming, the human body rests within the nape of the Titan's neck as the center of control. The human body is also merged with the Titan's flesh inside to varying extents, most frequently on the area of the cheeks below the eyes.

If a Titan form is pushed to its limit, the human will emerge from the nape of its neck, sometimes in a semi-conscious or entirely unconscious state. If a Titan form is not exhausted, then its human form can emerge from the Titan form in full consciousness. In some cases, a human is able to partially emerge from their Titan body without fully leaving the nape. After the power of the Titans is used, oftentimes the area around the emerging human's eyes is marked by dark lines, which resembles the Titan in their possession, for a short period of time.

The ability to transform into a Titan can be hindered by injuries inflicted on the human body. A human can transform into a Titan with injuries as severe as a missing limb, but only if a previous transformation has not occurred recently. If a human emerges from their Titan form and receives severe injury, this person cannot transform into a Titan again until said injuries have healed.

Inheritors of the Nine Titans appear to be resistant to the normal absorption that creates mindless Pure Titans. However, this does not mean that they are immune to it. In the case of Eren Yeager, it has been shown that repeated transformations in a short period of time lead to decreased control over the Titan form, as well as diminished Titan size and power. As such, it seems that there is a limitation on how long a human can remain in a transformed Titan state before risking absorption. The length of time spent in a controllable transformed Titan depends on how skilled the human is, although even the most experienced can become incredibly fatigued for as long as several days after repetitive use.

Physiology and abilities

The height among the Nine Titans varies greatly, ranging from the 4 meters of the Cart Titan to the 60 meters Colossus Titan. Many of them however range around 15 meters. Feminine Titan forms apparel to be slightly shorter than the masculine Titan forms, as Annie's Female Titan is 14 meters and Frieda Reiss' Founding Titan was 13 meters.

Age does not affect the appearance of the Nine Titans. After acquiring the Attack and Founding Titans, Eren's Titan form becomes much more mature in appearance. The Warriors' Titan forms remains constant through their childhood and into early adulthood.

Humans with the power of the Nine Titans also gain the Titans' ability to regenerate. They are even able to grow back their limb or up to the entire head. However, regeneration from severe injuries such as lost limbs can strain their powers and prevent them from transforming for a period of time, and healing takes much longer as a human than as a Titan. The time it takes to regenerate depends on the extent of the injury and how focused the individual is on healing that area. The only surefire way to kill a human with the power of the Titans is through severing the brain's connection to the rest of the body, although it is possible to survive even this method by transferring the mind to the rest of their nervous system.

Some of the Titans have been shown to possess the ability to harden. The Armored Titan is particularly skilled at this, being able to naturally harden its entire body. It can also control the areas of hardening, removing armor for more mobility or creating claws on its fingertips. The Jaw Titan has naturally hard teeth and claws. The Female Titan is also capable of hardening. Annie's Titan is able to selectively harden regions of her Titan and even create a protective layer around her human body.

Those with the Nine Titans are not safe from regular Titans, even while transformed, as the only way for a Pure Titan to regain its human form is by eating a human with the power of the Titans.

Inheritance

The Nine Titans, and the inheritor's ability to transform, can be transferred to a new host, should they be devoured by a Titan. This allows an ordinary Titan to become a new human with the power of the Titans, and inherit one or more of the Nine. This has been the case with the Founding Titan for over a thousand years.

However, according to former King, Rod Reiss, the power of the Titans resides within a human's spinal fluid, meaning that to gain the Titan's power, it is not necessary to eat the entire human, but rather a Titan can simply bite through the spine and ingest said fluid. Titan serums are, in fact, the spinal fluid of Titans, though study of the serums is difficult due to the serum's rapid rate of evaporation upon contact with air.

Inheritors of the Nine Titans do not adopt the appearance of the previous owners' Titans, as both Ymir and Frieda's Titans' appearances are vastly different from Marcel Galliard and Uri Reiss' Titans, respectively. Rod Reiss has claimed that humans can choose the serum that will give them a specific Titan form, meaning they are able to adopt the form given by the serum and not whatever form the Titan they eat possesses. However, the current inheritor's Titan form does experience certain changes depending on which of the Nine is received, as Ymir's Titan form gained sharp claws and teeth after acquiring the Jaw Titan and Armin's Titan form became much larger after acquiring the Colossus Titan. Eren's Pure Titan form was much smaller than his current form, and both Ymir's Titan form and Frieda's Titan form were noticeably more emaciated than their Titan bodies after inheriting their Titans.